USS Rich (DE-695)
_and_USS_Rich_(DE-695)_mined_off_Normandy_in_June_1944.jpg) USS Rich, left, shortly before being mined, 1944
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USS Rich |
| Namesake | Ralph M. Rich |
| Ordered | 1942 |
| Builder | Defoe Shipbuilding Company, Bay City, Michigan |
| Laid down | 27 March 1943 |
| Launched | 22 June 1943 |
| Commissioned | 1 October 1943 |
| Honors and awards | 1 battle star (World War II) |
| Fate | Sunk by mines, 8 June 1944 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Buckley-class destroyer escort |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 306 ft (93 m) |
| Beam | 37 ft (11 m) |
| Draft |
|
| Installed power | 12,000 shp (8,900 kW) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 23 kn (26 mph; 43 km/h) |
| Range |
|
| Capacity | 359 tons fuel oil |
| Complement | 15 officers, 198 men |
| Armament | 3 × projectors, 2 × depth charge tracks |
USS Rich (DE-695) was a
Navy Cross for his leadership as a fighter pilot off Enterprise during the Battle of Midway
.
Building and commissioning
Rich was laid down on 27 March 1943 at the
launched on 22 June 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Ralph McMaster Rich, widow of Lt. Rich. Builder's trials before her pre-commissioning cruise were done in Lake Huron
.
After completion, Rich sailed from the builder's yard at Bay City to
Algiers, Louisiana, on the west bank of the Mississippi at New Orleans, the rest of the crew reported aboard, and Rich was commissioned
on 1 October 1943.
World War II
Following
North Atlantic
.
On 23 May, she arrived at
Plymouth, England on 4 June, and was assigned as an escort to the battleship Nevada
.
Delayed by weather for 24 hours, the "U" force sailed for France on 5 June, with Rich and her sister ship Bates in the screen of the
E-Boat
.
Soon after 08:45 on 8 June, she was ordered by the Commander of Task Group 125.8 (TG 125.8) aboard Tuscaloosa to Fire Support Area 3 to assist the
minesweepers to the immediate area of the Glennon. Closing Glennon, Rich dispatched a whaleboat
, only to learn that her assistance was not needed at that point. Rich then started to round the disabled ship and take up station ahead of the minesweeper which had taken Glennon in tow. She moved at slow speed, with extra hands on the lookout for enemy planes and mines.
Sinking
.jpg)
At approximately 09:20, when Rich was about 300 yd (270 m) from the minesweeper
Navy Cross
for extraordinary heroism in the incident.
After the Normandy beachhead was no longer being actively used, machinery, guns, ammunition, and other equipment was salvaged from the wreck. After the war, the wreck was thoroughly stripped by scavengers. A few of her artifacts are on display at the Normandy
D-Day Museum
. One of her propellers is also on display in front of the museum.
Awards
Rich earned one battle star for service during World War II.
References
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entries can be found here and here.
- Bruce Hampton Franklin, The Buckley Class Destroyer Escorts (Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, 1999)
- Robert Gardiner, ed., Conway’s All the World’s Fighting Ships 1922–1946 (Conway Maritime Press, London, 1980)
External links
- Photo gallery of USS Rich at NavSource Naval History
- USS Rich (DE-695) webpage Archived 9 August 2019 at the Wayback Machine
- desausa.org: USS Rich
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in June 1944 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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